Saturday, April 25, 2009
A message for someone...
hey, i'm glad you pushed yourself hard and did your best at nationals, its been nice sailing with you and i wonder if you'd continue. but anyhow i thought about you over the few days of competition even though you were not racing on 2 of the 4 days. Your best is all that anyone including yourself can ask of you. well done =)
Monday, April 20, 2009
well well... nationals start tomorrow... good luck everyone! the laser fleet for both boys and girls looks deathly competitive! Hope my friends do well =) to her... i've missed u and still miss you... sail well people! =D can't wait to get back into my laser and change the lines... can't wait to jump back in the boat and start feeling good in it again... this season has been gybing mayhem for me... they just feel so jerky and bad... oh well! another thing to work on!
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Monday, April 06, 2009
Sing Siam 2009
yeah okay, i had a most eventful weekend at the sing siam regatta... my race results went something to the tune of 1, 9, 5, 2, 7, 2. the race course was a trapezoid course with an outer loop. I've got to admit, God really helped me... I really wouldn't have been able to finish in 3rd without him. I even saw a pair of indo pacific humpback dolphins on my way out to the race course. they were a pinkish greyish colour. i only saw the humpback, i didn't see the head or the tail.
Day 1,
Race 1: The wind was light, about 3-4 knots at the very most. i had a fair start, and was up in the top 5 having caught 2 major windshifts and was trailing in second by about 6 boat lengths once i went round the windward mark onto the reaching leg. i kept on chipping away at the lead that the Prasert had... behind me, Manat (ex thai national champion) was closing in on me... i kept my cool and made a concieted effort to close in on the leader, Prasert, and close in i did, as a result, Manas didn't manage to close the gap and overtake me... Prasert had a poor rounding at the bottom mark, allowing me to capitalize, coming into the mark wide and exiting as tight as i possibly could, putting me above the leader. However his boat speed was superior and he managed to hang onto his lead. I finally muscled my way into first about 6 boatlengths from the windward buoy but got tricked and the first leader slid cleanly around the mark before i could react. I took a gamble. i bore away and sailed into the current while the race leader went for speed and was heading down with the current. i sailed downwind in what little breeze there was and tried to keep clean air, i finally pulled up to Prasert about 8 boat lengths from the buoy. Being the inside boat, I was able to force my opponent wide, allowing me room to round the mark and head to the finish, while blocking his wind so i would not be overtaken. I won by about a boatlength. What a way to start the regatta! first international event in the laser, in my own boat, with a win!
Race 2: the wind picked up to about 12 knots and there was no way i could keep the boat flat and lost out a lot of positions on the up wind legs due to poor boat speed. i did what i could to maintain and catch up on the off wind but it was not to be. Manat won...
Race 3: i THOUGHT this was the ultimate comeback in fairly strong wind of about 10 knots... God was definately behind this one... i had a bad start, getting buried and rounding mark 1 in 11th, i managed to save 6 places in the second upwind leg to finish in a comfortable 6th. Manat won...
race 4: third time lucky? maybe for me it was... the wind had died down to about 4-6 knots, i had a very clean start and was out and clear from the fleet. i managed to block and hang onto my lead all the way to the top mark. i tried hard to close in on Manat... but i just couldnt... i finished day 1 sitting in second place. Manat was first... with three points having discarded his 3rd which was issued by myself and another thai sailor =). He sure is consistent!
Day 2, we had a late start because there was a cat1 which finished at 1:15. we FINALLY launched our boats at about 1.20-1.30pm. I knew these would be the make or break races, i got on the water focused on the conditions at hand, which looked to be really strong wind, about 12 to 15 knots, knowing i may finish not standing on the podium.
Race 5: the gun went when the wind was howling... i had an excellent start but again could not hang into my positions and dropped many on the first beat... i slid across the finish in 7th, feeling very dejected as the darkness of 4th position enveloped me... Thanks Andrew for the pep talk =) really needed it at that point in time... sorry Zeng... what i said was really harsh..! sorry dude... guess what... Manat won again...
Race 6: the wind was still flexing its muscles as i was dispairing... i got off to a good start but made a tactical error as well as being unable to find the speed i needed so badly to get clear. by the time i got to the top mark, I was lying in 12th but managed to cash in on someone's mistake of hitting the windward mark while going round and i hopped into 11th. The darkness of not getting that shiny little cup dawned on me. i honestly felt like it was all over but somehow wanted to keep trying... the wind died... what luck! Soon Chung and i rounded the leeward mark and began our second beat in about 2-3 knots of wind. i remembered what Andrew told me before the race started and i kept my centreboard as far down as possible by sitting on it. i headed for shore to make use of whatever wind there was and to minimize the effects of the strong current on my boatspeed. the rest of the fleet had headed towards the middle of the course and into deeper water with stronger current. I tried so hard to catch Manat, something told me not to give up, to keep going, to persevere... the results you may ask? I managed to put Manat within striking distance a few times but was unable to wrestle 1st place from him as he after all, was the ex Thai National Champion, who obviously had quite a few defensive moves up his sleeve. His estimation and boat speed were excellent and by the time i got to the windward mark, he was about 1/4 way down towards the bottom mark and the finishing mark. Soon Chung who was trying to catch me all the way to the windward mark rounded shortly after i did and the chase was on! we were unsucessful catching Manat, but we had each gained something to the tune of 9 places. putting us from an 11-12 finish to a 2-3 finish! God was kind and gracious to give me the 9 places i needed badly. I was worried that i'd lost my position after i crossed the finish line but looking behind me, Prasert had not even reached the windward mark and my heart skipped a beat, what if he gained some positions and finished 3rd? he did beat me in my previous race and i was leading by a mere 3 points... I stopped worrying having realised there was nothing I could do having already finished the race with a good position.
Back to shore we sailed, really, really slowly... i shook hands with Manat and Prasert, congratulated them on their good sailing, and we chatted about the races we'd gone through. Having high fived Andrew, we did a quick countback and he'd beaten me to second place by a single point, scoring 16 points to my 17. I was fine with that but i felt a small part of me tug my heart and say could you have squeezed another position out of any of the other races? I thought about it and I concluded the answer was No. It would have been difficult, if not impossible. Personally i was wondered if we would both medal this time. However i know for a fact God was there with me through the thick and thin, and rollercoaster of feelings. Zeng was very upset having dropped from 1st to 6th in the last race which according to him cost him a medal, i'm not very sure about that because like me, he had had an inconsistent series of races on day 1. I went to check the results after hosing my boat down and allowing the sail to dry. When i saw the results, i was blown away! BOTH ANDREW AND I HAD MEDALED IN THE SING SIAM REGATTA 2009!!! DESIPTE OUR SHORTCOMINGS, WE BOTH WERE GOING TO RECIEVE MEDALS! SHEER PLEASURE!
2ND ANDREW LEE TIAN SEONG !
3RD TAN AN REN 3rd!
WOW!!! all i could do was scream "YES YESS YESSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" and high five Drew, who then proceeded to look at the results, copy my reaction by screaming "YESSSSSSSS" and do his "victory dance" which got me laughing real hard! We both had sailed hard during the regatta and God allowed us the priviledge to be up there. only 2nd to the ex national champion... what a feeling! Zeng who was out in the boat yard apparently was able to hear the screams of jubilation...
During the Prize presentation, i picked up my prize for finishing 3rd in the laser standard class, and as i was walking out of the room, my name was called because unknowingly i had won the 3rd prize in the laser open class. Talk about having a double portion. Having 2 prizes on my first medal occation of an event above club level... this was beyond my wildest dreams and i know who i can attribute it to... I am thankful. i really really am =) I thank my parents, coaches and friends for believing in me, for always pushing me on and giving me opportunities. Celebrations after the exams anyone? =P i know who i'll be eating Cake with... =) on reflection, this regatta has shown me what i am good at, what needs a lot of work, which boat i should be sailing and last but not least, to never ever give up hope, to keep your wits about you and to do what you think is the correct thing, and not to follow the crowd.
Special thanks goes out to the following people (in NO order of importance)
Alicia for snapping a photo of me at the prize presentation- it was good to see you again!
Uncle Tony for coaching me all these years and pushing me hard so i'd learn fast in the laser
Ramli for all those hours at the gym and helping me get fitter even tho some days were awful and some were good sessions!
Valencia, Ananda and Zing (Zeng) for pushing me in training and keeping my head level and small
Jeryl Ong for encouragement and good humour at training!
Andrew Lee for encouragement, pushing me hard and cheering in race 1 at mark 1... haha... and helping me take my mast down and folding my sail on both saturday and sunday
The uncles at one stop who helped us launch and recover boats, especially the uncle who helped me pull up my boat on sunday when i couldnt do it by myself
Till we meet again, my friends... take care and keep safe =)
Day 1,
Race 1: The wind was light, about 3-4 knots at the very most. i had a fair start, and was up in the top 5 having caught 2 major windshifts and was trailing in second by about 6 boat lengths once i went round the windward mark onto the reaching leg. i kept on chipping away at the lead that the Prasert had... behind me, Manat (ex thai national champion) was closing in on me... i kept my cool and made a concieted effort to close in on the leader, Prasert, and close in i did, as a result, Manas didn't manage to close the gap and overtake me... Prasert had a poor rounding at the bottom mark, allowing me to capitalize, coming into the mark wide and exiting as tight as i possibly could, putting me above the leader. However his boat speed was superior and he managed to hang onto his lead. I finally muscled my way into first about 6 boatlengths from the windward buoy but got tricked and the first leader slid cleanly around the mark before i could react. I took a gamble. i bore away and sailed into the current while the race leader went for speed and was heading down with the current. i sailed downwind in what little breeze there was and tried to keep clean air, i finally pulled up to Prasert about 8 boat lengths from the buoy. Being the inside boat, I was able to force my opponent wide, allowing me room to round the mark and head to the finish, while blocking his wind so i would not be overtaken. I won by about a boatlength. What a way to start the regatta! first international event in the laser, in my own boat, with a win!
Race 2: the wind picked up to about 12 knots and there was no way i could keep the boat flat and lost out a lot of positions on the up wind legs due to poor boat speed. i did what i could to maintain and catch up on the off wind but it was not to be. Manat won...
Race 3: i THOUGHT this was the ultimate comeback in fairly strong wind of about 10 knots... God was definately behind this one... i had a bad start, getting buried and rounding mark 1 in 11th, i managed to save 6 places in the second upwind leg to finish in a comfortable 6th. Manat won...
race 4: third time lucky? maybe for me it was... the wind had died down to about 4-6 knots, i had a very clean start and was out and clear from the fleet. i managed to block and hang onto my lead all the way to the top mark. i tried hard to close in on Manat... but i just couldnt... i finished day 1 sitting in second place. Manat was first... with three points having discarded his 3rd which was issued by myself and another thai sailor =). He sure is consistent!
Day 2, we had a late start because there was a cat1 which finished at 1:15. we FINALLY launched our boats at about 1.20-1.30pm. I knew these would be the make or break races, i got on the water focused on the conditions at hand, which looked to be really strong wind, about 12 to 15 knots, knowing i may finish not standing on the podium.
Race 5: the gun went when the wind was howling... i had an excellent start but again could not hang into my positions and dropped many on the first beat... i slid across the finish in 7th, feeling very dejected as the darkness of 4th position enveloped me... Thanks Andrew for the pep talk =) really needed it at that point in time... sorry Zeng... what i said was really harsh..! sorry dude... guess what... Manat won again...
Race 6: the wind was still flexing its muscles as i was dispairing... i got off to a good start but made a tactical error as well as being unable to find the speed i needed so badly to get clear. by the time i got to the top mark, I was lying in 12th but managed to cash in on someone's mistake of hitting the windward mark while going round and i hopped into 11th. The darkness of not getting that shiny little cup dawned on me. i honestly felt like it was all over but somehow wanted to keep trying... the wind died... what luck! Soon Chung and i rounded the leeward mark and began our second beat in about 2-3 knots of wind. i remembered what Andrew told me before the race started and i kept my centreboard as far down as possible by sitting on it. i headed for shore to make use of whatever wind there was and to minimize the effects of the strong current on my boatspeed. the rest of the fleet had headed towards the middle of the course and into deeper water with stronger current. I tried so hard to catch Manat, something told me not to give up, to keep going, to persevere... the results you may ask? I managed to put Manat within striking distance a few times but was unable to wrestle 1st place from him as he after all, was the ex Thai National Champion, who obviously had quite a few defensive moves up his sleeve. His estimation and boat speed were excellent and by the time i got to the windward mark, he was about 1/4 way down towards the bottom mark and the finishing mark. Soon Chung who was trying to catch me all the way to the windward mark rounded shortly after i did and the chase was on! we were unsucessful catching Manat, but we had each gained something to the tune of 9 places. putting us from an 11-12 finish to a 2-3 finish! God was kind and gracious to give me the 9 places i needed badly. I was worried that i'd lost my position after i crossed the finish line but looking behind me, Prasert had not even reached the windward mark and my heart skipped a beat, what if he gained some positions and finished 3rd? he did beat me in my previous race and i was leading by a mere 3 points... I stopped worrying having realised there was nothing I could do having already finished the race with a good position.
Back to shore we sailed, really, really slowly... i shook hands with Manat and Prasert, congratulated them on their good sailing, and we chatted about the races we'd gone through. Having high fived Andrew, we did a quick countback and he'd beaten me to second place by a single point, scoring 16 points to my 17. I was fine with that but i felt a small part of me tug my heart and say could you have squeezed another position out of any of the other races? I thought about it and I concluded the answer was No. It would have been difficult, if not impossible. Personally i was wondered if we would both medal this time. However i know for a fact God was there with me through the thick and thin, and rollercoaster of feelings. Zeng was very upset having dropped from 1st to 6th in the last race which according to him cost him a medal, i'm not very sure about that because like me, he had had an inconsistent series of races on day 1. I went to check the results after hosing my boat down and allowing the sail to dry. When i saw the results, i was blown away! BOTH ANDREW AND I HAD MEDALED IN THE SING SIAM REGATTA 2009!!! DESIPTE OUR SHORTCOMINGS, WE BOTH WERE GOING TO RECIEVE MEDALS! SHEER PLEASURE!
2ND ANDREW LEE TIAN SEONG !
3RD TAN AN REN 3rd!
WOW!!! all i could do was scream "YES YESS YESSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" and high five Drew, who then proceeded to look at the results, copy my reaction by screaming "YESSSSSSSS" and do his "victory dance" which got me laughing real hard! We both had sailed hard during the regatta and God allowed us the priviledge to be up there. only 2nd to the ex national champion... what a feeling! Zeng who was out in the boat yard apparently was able to hear the screams of jubilation...
During the Prize presentation, i picked up my prize for finishing 3rd in the laser standard class, and as i was walking out of the room, my name was called because unknowingly i had won the 3rd prize in the laser open class. Talk about having a double portion. Having 2 prizes on my first medal occation of an event above club level... this was beyond my wildest dreams and i know who i can attribute it to... I am thankful. i really really am =) I thank my parents, coaches and friends for believing in me, for always pushing me on and giving me opportunities. Celebrations after the exams anyone? =P i know who i'll be eating Cake with... =) on reflection, this regatta has shown me what i am good at, what needs a lot of work, which boat i should be sailing and last but not least, to never ever give up hope, to keep your wits about you and to do what you think is the correct thing, and not to follow the crowd.
Special thanks goes out to the following people (in NO order of importance)
Alicia for snapping a photo of me at the prize presentation- it was good to see you again!
Uncle Tony for coaching me all these years and pushing me hard so i'd learn fast in the laser
Ramli for all those hours at the gym and helping me get fitter even tho some days were awful and some were good sessions!
Valencia, Ananda and Zing (Zeng) for pushing me in training and keeping my head level and small
Jeryl Ong for encouragement and good humour at training!
Andrew Lee for encouragement, pushing me hard and cheering in race 1 at mark 1... haha... and helping me take my mast down and folding my sail on both saturday and sunday
The uncles at one stop who helped us launch and recover boats, especially the uncle who helped me pull up my boat on sunday when i couldnt do it by myself
Till we meet again, my friends... take care and keep safe =)
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